FA Premier League 2000-01
Encyclopedia
The FA Premier League
2000-01 season was the third season running which ended with Manchester United
as champions and Arsenal
as runners-up. Sir Alex Ferguson
(who had been knighted in June 1999) became the first manager to win three successive English league titles, although three teams (Arsenal
, Huddersfield and Liverpool
) had achieved that feat in the past - but with managerial changes in between. Liverpool, meanwhile, managed a unique cup treble - winning the FA Cup
, League Cup
and UEFA Cup
. They also finished third in the Premiership and qualified for the Champions League
; they had not played in the European Cup since the 1985 final at Heysel
in which their fans were falsely accused of killing 39 spectators, when in fact it was started by an Arsenal fan, and were given a six-year ban from European competition.
UEFA Cup places went to Leeds United, Chelsea
, Ipswich Town
, and Aston Villa
, who qualified via the Intertoto Cup. None of the top six clubs in the Premiership had an English manager. The most successful English manager in the 2000–01 Premiership campaign was Peter Reid
, whose Sunderland
side finished seventh, having spent most of the season challenging for a place in Europe, and briefly occupied second place in the Premiership table.
Despite the success achieved by Sir Alex Ferguson and Gérard Houllier
, the Manager of the Year Award went to George Burley
. The Ipswich Town
manager was in charge of a newly promoted side who began the season as relegation favourites and on a limited budget, guided his team to fifth place in the Premiership final table and a place in the UEFA Cup for the first time in almost 20 years. 2000–01 was perhaps the best season yet for newly promoted teams in the Premiership. Charlton Athletic
finished ninth, their highest finish since the 1950s. The only newly promoted team to suffer relegation was Manchester City
, who in the space of seven seasons had now been relegated four times and promoted twice. Relegated in bottom place were Bradford City
, whose return to the top division after almost 80 years was over after just two seasons. The next relegation place went to Coventry City
, who were finally relegated after 34 successive seasons of top division football, which had brought numerous relegation battles and league finishes no higher than sixth place.
During the close season, Leicester City
manager Martin O'Neill
had left for Celtic
, much to the dismay of the Leicester fans, to be replaced by former Gillingham
manager Peter Taylor. As had Bradford City manager Paul Jewell
, and his successor Chris Hutchings
was dismissed in November to make way for Jim Jefferies
. But the change of management was not enough to prevent Bradford from being relegated in bottom place. Joe Royle
was sacked as Manchester City manager shortly after they were relegated (in four seasons as manager he had seen the club get relegated to Division Two and then win two successive promotions before finally being relegated from the Premiership again).
George Graham
was sacked as Tottenham
manager in March despite guiding the club to the FA Cup semi-finals, the reason for his dismissal was that he had allegedly breached his contract. He was replaced by Southampton
manager Glenn Hoddle
, who in turn was replaced by Stuart Gray
.
In September, Gianluca Vialli
had been sacked as manager of FA Cup winners Chelsea
and replaced by another Italian
, Claudio Ranieri
.
At the end of the season, Bryan Robson
resigned after seven years as Middlesbrough
manager. He had spent most of the 2000-01 as joint manager in partnership with Terry Venables
, who also left the club. Middlesbrough replaced Robson and Venables with Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren
.
Just before the end of the season, Harry Redknapp
left West Ham United
under mysterious circumstances after seven years as manager - it was uncertain as to whether he had resigned or been sacked. It turned out that Redknapp was sacked after making some injudicious comments to a reporter from a club fanzine. Redknapp was replaced by first team coach Glenn Roeder, whose two previous brief and unsuccessful spells in management had been in the lower divisions with Gillingham
and then Watford
.
In November 2000, the English transfer record was broken for the first time in more than four years. The £15 million record set when Alan Shearer
moved from Blackburn
to Newcastle United
in July 1996 had been equalled in May 2000 when Chelsea paid Atlético Madrid £15 million for Dutch
striker
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
, but now it was broken when Leeds United paid West Ham £18 million for 22-year-old central defender Rio Ferdinand
.
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
1Since Liverpool qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners went to Ipswich Town, and as Liverpool also won the League Cup that place went to Chelsea.
, for the third year running, came close to success in two major competitions but yet again finished the season without any silverware. By Christmas, most of the bookmakers had closed the books on them and anyone else catching Manchester United
in the Premiership title race. When the Gunners were crushed 6-1 at Old Trafford in late February, just about all of the lingering doubts about the title's destination were crushed, and Arsenal's bid for the title was over by mid April.
But there was still some chance of success. They had just beaten local rivals Tottenham
in the FA Cup
semi-final to book their place in the first final at the Millennium Stadium
while Wembley
is redeveloped.
Arsenal were also in a race with three or four other teams to secure second place, and in the end they won the race for runners-up spot to complete three successive seasons of finishing second to Manchester United in the league.
On 12 May, Arsenal took an early lead over Liverpool
in the FA Cup
final thanks to a Freddie Ljungberg goal, and with 5 minutes remaining the trophy was within touching distance. But two late goals from Liverpool's Michael Owen
condemned Highbury
to a third successive trophyless season.
secure another top-10 finish, though this time they dipped slightly into eighth place after occupying sixth place a year earlier
. Villa proved themselves as one of the hardest Premiership teams to beat, with only the top three sides suffering fewer defeats than Villa's 10. But a mere 13 wins and a staggering 15 draws ended any hopes of a title bid or even a top-six finish. The arrival of Yugoslav
striker Bosko Balaban
at the end of the season gave fans renewed hope that next season
might deliver more success.
dismissed after 12 games at the helm. In came Scotsman
Jim Jefferies
as his successor, but Jefferies could do little to alter Bradford's dismal fortunes and they went down in bottom place with just five Premiership wins all season - equalling Swindon's
record low of Premiership wins which had been set seven years earlier
.
and his Charlton side
won many admirers after their Division One
title glory gained them promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking. This time he kept them there with an excellent ninth place finish and 52 points. They would have finished higher still - and possibly qualified for Europe - had their defence not been the leakiest of any in the top 15 and the sixth leakiest in the division. Still, it was a superb achievement for a side who had been among the favourites of many punters to suffer an immediate return to the Nationwide League. The arrival of striker Jason Euell
from Wimbledon
in a club record deal gave fans hope of more success in 2001-02.
his job, despite having won five trophies since his appointment in February 1998. The last of these trophies came at the start of the season, when they defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the Charity Shield
to win the last-ever club game at the pre-redevelopment Wembley.
Vialli's successor was Claudio Ranieri
, who guided the club to sixth place in the final table and attained automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup
.
The biggest success of the season was the effectiveness of club record signing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
, who found the net 23 times in 35 Premiership games in a partnership with Chelsea's now 34 year old Italian superstar, Gianfranco Zola
who found the net on 9 occasions.
luck finally ran out and they were relegated from the top flight.
, but Jim Smith
's men were saved with one week of the season left after Manchester City
lost their penultimate game of the season. The attention was then quickly focused on improving the squad for 2001-02 in a bid to prevent another relegation battle.
manager three years ago, he was intent on reversing the decline which had turned Everton from title winners to relegation battlers in barely a decade. Three years on, they are still in the Premiership, but have played some of the most unremarkable football ever seen at this level and have frustrated fans who have spent the last five seasons living in fear of relegation. This season saw them finish 16th - their lowest finish under Smith's management. Even the arrival of Paul Gascoigne
made little difference to the side, with the iconic Geordie
performing like a thin shadow of his former self.
As the 2001-02 season approached, Smith was the favourite of many bookies to be the first managerial casualty of the new season.
after winning promotion, Ipswich
surprised observers by consistently holding a place among the top six. For much of the season, it looked like they would finish in the top three and qualify for the European Cup
for the first time in nearly 40 years. In the end, they finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup
for the first time since 1982. Manager George Burley
was then voted "Manager of the Year" by his colleagues.
took Leeds
to their first European Cup
semi-final since 1975, where defeat at the hands of Valencia
ended their chances of a repeat of the ill-tempered 1975 European Cup clash with Bayern Munich who beat Real Madrid
in the other semi-final.
The club's league form in the first half of the season had been dire, and they had been just one place outside the relegation zone at Christmas. However, after a dramatic improvement in form they finished fourth in the final table, which meant that their place in Europe for 2001-02 would be in the UEFA Cup
rather than the European Cup.
Failure to qualify for the following season's Champions League was considered a disappointment rather than a disaster by fans of the club at the time, given the success in reaching the semi-final. However, the directors of the club had secured tens of millions of pounds of loans which depended on successful Champions League qualification; the failure to qualify was a calamity that would see the club suffer financial disaster and be relegated twice in the coming seasons.
begin October on top of the league just four months after the appointment of Peter Taylor
as Martin O'Neill's successor
- they had not occupied top place since 1963. Two weeks later, they surrendered their lead to Manchester United but were still in the top four by Christmas.
A shock defeat at the hands of Division Two
underdogs Wycombe Wanderers
in the FA Cup
quarter-final midway through March had a negative effect on the Foxes, who endured 9 defeats and attained one win from their final 10 games. This slump dragged them down to 13th place - their lowest finish since winning promotion to the Premiership back in 1996. Several high profile end-of-season signings - including that of Chelsea
legend Dennis Wise
- gave fans hope that Leicester could regain their form and rejoin the challenge for honours in 2001-02.
November saw the announcement of plans to relocate to a new 32,000-seat stadium
at a site adjacent to Filbert Street
, with a targeted completion for the start of the 2003-04 season
. Later in the season, it was announced that Leicester wound only have to be spend one more season at their Filbert Street ground before they could move into their new home.
enjoyed their best season for years when they completed a unique treble
of cup competitions and ended Gerard Houllier
's three-year wait to bring silverware to Anfield
.
The first trophy was secured on 25 February when a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory followed a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City
in the Worthington Cup
final. The game was also the first club fixture to be played at Cardiff
's Millennium Stadium
while Wembley
was being rebuilt. Part two of the treble was completed on 12 May when two late Michael Owen
goals overturned Arsenal's
lead in the FA Cup Final
to give the Reds a 2-1 win. The final part of the treble was perhaps the most dramatic. The UEFA Cup
final featured an amazing 9 goals as Alaves gave them a run for their money fighting back to equalize from 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3, before Liverpool finally ran out 5-4 winners
after extra-time.
Promising young midfielder Steven Gerrard
was voted PFA Young Player of the Year
for his key part in one of the most successful seasons in Liverpool's 109-year history, and contributions from British stars Michael Owen
, Robbie Fowler
, Jamie Carragher
, Danny Murphy, and new signings Gary McAllister
and Emile Heskey
were matched by an increasingly continental side consisting of new captain Sami Hyypia
, Sander Westerveld
, Jari Litmanen
and Dietmar Hamann
.
However, there was sad news just after the end of the season, when former manager Joe Fagan
(manager of the 1984 side that also managed to win three trophies in a season) died at the age of 80 after a long illness.
return to the Premiership after a four-year exile was the consequence of back-to-back promotions. But it became clear after just a few games that Joe Royle
's men would struggle to retain their top flight status.
Their relegation was confirmed by a defeat in the penultimate game of the season, and Royle was dismissed within days. Former England
coach Kevin Keegan
was appointed on a three-year contract and fans were given renewed hope of an immediate return to the elite.
made an outstanding start to the season and it was quickly clear that they were in pole position for a third successive Premiership title. By Christmas, most of the bookmakers had closed their books on anyone catching them, and most of those who believed otherwise were silenced on 25 February when they crushed their nearest rivals Arsenal 6-1 at Old Trafford. The title was confirmed six weeks later.
But there were downsides during the season. A shock 1-0 home defeat to West Ham
in the Fourth Round ended their FA Cup
hopes, and their European Cup
challenge was ended in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich - their opponents from the victorious 1999 final.
After the end of the season, United broke their club record twice. The first signing was Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy
, the second was Argentine
midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron
. Both of these players were rated as world-class, and gave United fans extra hope of more glory being achieved in what was thought to be Sir Alex Ferguson's
final season as United manager.
chairman Steve Gibson respond by installing former England boss Terry Venables
as joint manager alongside Bryan Robson
in December. This experiment with joint management paid off as Middlesbrough finished 14th to avoid the drop by a comfortable margin.
Robson and Venables both departed after the season was over, and in came Manchester United
assistant Steve McClaren
to succeed him.
's first full season as Newcastle
manager saw them start well, the club in the top half throughout the first half of the season. However, after a 3-1 win at Leeds in January the club suffered a massive collapse in form, with no win until mid-April and only two further wins after that. The team was also hit by injury, with their £21 million strike-force of Alan Shearer
and Carl Cort
both missing large parts of the season.
In the end the team finished 11th once again - more than high enough to avoid relegation, but not high enough to get into Europe.
enjoyed their best form in several years after it was announced that Glenn Hoddle
was replacing Dave Jones as manager on a permanent basis.
But Hoddle caused outrage by walking out on the Saints in late March and taking the managerial vacancy at Tottenham
the next day. Coach Stuart Gray
took over on a temporary basis, and with Southampton's good form continuing he was rewarded with the job on a permanent basis. Southampton's best moment was a 89th minute winner by Matthew Le Tissier to pull back from 2-0 down against runners-up Arsenal.
2000-01 was Southampton's final season at the Dell. After 103 years, they move on to the St Mary's Stadium
on Brittania Road, which with 32,000 seats is more than twice the size of their old ground and is seen by many as the way forward for a club.
enjoyed another strong season, and briefly occupied second place in February. But Peter Reid
's men were unable to keep up their excellent form, and they had to settle for seventh place - just as they did last season, and not quite enough for UEFA Cup
qualification.
were thrown into turmoil on 16 March when it was announced that manager George Graham
had been sacked for breach of his contract. Countless names were linked with the vacancy, and a popular decision was made two weeks later when it was announced that former player Glenn Hoddle
would be returning to the club as manager. A few weeks later, he re-signed Teddy Sheringham
from Manchester United as the first of many promised new signings in a new-look side which many fans feel will be just the right set of players to bring the glory days back to White Hart Lane
.
contributed towards a slight dip in West Ham's
Premiership form, and mystery surrounded the departure of manager Harry Redknapp
on 9 May after seven years as manager - was he resigned or was he sacked?
Alan Curbishley
, Steve McClaren
and George Graham
were just some of the many names linked with the vacancy before it was announced that caretaker manager and former youth coach Glenn Roeder
would be taking over on a permanent basis.
Roeder's appointment was met with endless disapproval by fans who felt that he wasn't experienced enough to take charge of a side which had spent the last three seasons in the frame for European football. Many outsiders shared their views, and for the first time in years the punters started to take bets on West Ham being relegated.
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
2000-01 season was the third season running which ended with Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
as champions and Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
as runners-up. Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
(who had been knighted in June 1999) became the first manager to win three successive English league titles, although three teams (Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, Huddersfield and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
) had achieved that feat in the past - but with managerial changes in between. Liverpool, meanwhile, managed a unique cup treble - winning the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
, League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
and UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. They also finished third in the Premiership and qualified for the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
; they had not played in the European Cup since the 1985 final at Heysel
Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy...
in which their fans were falsely accused of killing 39 spectators, when in fact it was started by an Arsenal fan, and were given a six-year ban from European competition.
UEFA Cup places went to Leeds United, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
, and Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, who qualified via the Intertoto Cup. None of the top six clubs in the Premiership had an English manager. The most successful English manager in the 2000–01 Premiership campaign was Peter Reid
Peter Reid
Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career...
, whose Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
side finished seventh, having spent most of the season challenging for a place in Europe, and briefly occupied second place in the Premiership table.
Despite the success achieved by Sir Alex Ferguson and Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
, the Manager of the Year Award went to George Burley
George Burley
George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps...
. The Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
manager was in charge of a newly promoted side who began the season as relegation favourites and on a limited budget, guided his team to fifth place in the Premiership final table and a place in the UEFA Cup for the first time in almost 20 years. 2000–01 was perhaps the best season yet for newly promoted teams in the Premiership. Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
finished ninth, their highest finish since the 1950s. The only newly promoted team to suffer relegation was Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
, who in the space of seven seasons had now been relegated four times and promoted twice. Relegated in bottom place were Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
, whose return to the top division after almost 80 years was over after just two seasons. The next relegation place went to Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
, who were finally relegated after 34 successive seasons of top division football, which had brought numerous relegation battles and league finishes no higher than sixth place.
Management changes
During 2000-01, more than half of the English league's 92 clubs underwent at least one managerial change and Premiership clubs also had their fair share of changes.During the close season, Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
manager Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...
had left for Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
, much to the dismay of the Leicester fans, to be replaced by former Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
manager Peter Taylor. As had Bradford City manager Paul Jewell
Paul Jewell
Paul Steven Jewell is a former English footballer who is currently the manager of Ipswich Town.His playing career started with Liverpool before moving to Wigan Athletic and then a ten-year spell with Bradford City...
, and his successor Chris Hutchings
Chris Hutchings
Christopher "Chris" Hutchings is an English former footballer and former manager of Walsall. He played for a number of clubs including Chelsea and played more than 100 games for Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town...
was dismissed in November to make way for Jim Jefferies
Jim Jefferies
James "Jim" Jefferies is a Scottish football former player and manager. Jefferies played for Heart of Midlothian for almost his whole playing career and enjoyed a successful first managerial spell with the club, winning the 1998 Scottish Cup...
. But the change of management was not enough to prevent Bradford from being relegated in bottom place. Joe Royle
Joe Royle
Joseph "Joe" Royle is an English football manager. In his club career, he played for Everton , Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the England national team...
was sacked as Manchester City manager shortly after they were relegated (in four seasons as manager he had seen the club get relegated to Division Two and then win two successive promotions before finally being relegated from the Premiership again).
George Graham
George Graham (footballer)
George Graham is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success at Arsenal, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager from 1986 until 1995.-Early life:...
was sacked as Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
manager in March despite guiding the club to the FA Cup semi-finals, the reason for his dismissal was that he had allegedly breached his contract. He was replaced by Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
manager Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
, who in turn was replaced by Stuart Gray
Stuart Gray (footballer born 1960)
Stuart Gray is an English former footballer and manager, who is the former manager of Football League Two side Northampton Town. On 30th December 2010 he was appointed the caretaker manager of Burnley following the sacking of Brian Laws, reverting to his role as first team coach when Eddie Howe...
.
In September, Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia....
had been sacked as manager of FA Cup winners Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
and replaced by another Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri, is an Italian football manager, currently in charge as head coach of Internazionale.He has also managed many other well-known clubs in Europe, including Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus and Roma.-Early life:Ranieri attended St...
.
At the end of the season, Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
resigned after seven years as Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
manager. He had spent most of the 2000-01 as joint manager in partnership with Terry Venables
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
, who also left the club. Middlesbrough replaced Robson and Venables with Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...
.
Just before the end of the season, Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
left West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
under mysterious circumstances after seven years as manager - it was uncertain as to whether he had resigned or been sacked. It turned out that Redknapp was sacked after making some injudicious comments to a reporter from a club fanzine. Redknapp was replaced by first team coach Glenn Roeder, whose two previous brief and unsuccessful spells in management had been in the lower divisions with Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
and then Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
.
In November 2000, the English transfer record was broken for the first time in more than four years. The £15 million record set when Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
moved from Blackburn
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
to Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
in July 1996 had been equalled in May 2000 when Chelsea paid Atlético Madrid £15 million for Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jerrel Hasselbaink usually known as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a Dutch former football striker who played for various clubs in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, and Spain, as well as the Dutch national team. He scored more than 200 career goals...
, but now it was broken when Leeds United paid West Ham £18 million for 22-year-old central defender Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
.
Personnel and kits
(as of 14 May 2001)| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups... |
 Arsène WengerArsène Wenger Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996... |
 Tony AdamsTony Adams (footballer) Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends... |
Nike Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area... |
Dreamcast |
| Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder... |
John Gregory |
Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate in Crawley, West Sussex is a retired English footballer and ex-manager. He is known as the "Penalty Misser of '96." He served as manager of Middlesbrough from June 2006, until he was dismissed in October 2009... |
Diadora Diadora Diadora is an Italian football, tennis, running, cycling, rugby, athletic shoe, clothing, and fashion accessory manufacturer with locations in Italy, the United States, and Hong Kong.-History:... |
ntl: |
| Bradford City |  Jim JefferiesJim Jefferies James "Jim" Jefferies is a Scottish football former player and manager. Jefferies played for Heart of Midlothian for almost his whole playing career and enjoyed a successful first managerial spell with the club, winning the 1998 Scottish Cup... |
Stuart McCall Stuart McCall Andrew Stuart Murray McCall , usually known as Stuart McCall, is a former footballer who played in central midfield. He played a total of 763 league games during his career, the 13th highest of all British footballers... |
ASICS ASICS ASICS is a Japanese athletic equipment company. ASICS produces professional footwear and sports equipment designed for football, running, netball, tennis, badminton, squash, martial arts, cricket, golf, wrestling, track & field, cross-training, volleyball, cheerleading, lacrosse, and for many other... |
JCT600 JCT600 JCT600 is a car dealership founded in Bradford, England in 1946 by Edward Tordoff - the company is now run by his grandson, John Tordoff. It has 22 franchises operating from 48 retail outlets across the North of England with an annual turnover in excess of £450 million.JCT600 takes its name from... |
| Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,... |
Alan Curbishley Alan Curbishley Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player.... |
 Mark KinsellaMark Kinsella Mark Anthony Kinsella is an Irish former professional footballer and current football coach. He played as a central midfielder for most of his career.... |
Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif is a French company producing sports equipment such as shoes, shorts, and T-shirts. It was founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset, but the first clothing items branded with the rooster appeared in 1948... |
Redbus |
| Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
 Claudio RanieriClaudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri, is an Italian football manager, currently in charge as head coach of Internazionale.He has also managed many other well-known clubs in Europe, including Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus and Roma.-Early life:Ranieri attended St... |
Dennis Wise Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise is an English former football manager and player, and former Executive Director at Newcastle United.... |
Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Autoglass Autoglass Autoglass is a car-windscreen repair company based in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.-History:In 1971, Windshields was formed in Bedford, and operated across southern England doing mobile repairs. In 1973 the Doulton Group launched Autoglass, which operated across northern England... |
| Coventry City Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry... |
Gordon Strachan Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,... |
? | CCFC Garments | Subaru Subaru ; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as... |
| Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English... |
Jim Smith Jim Smith (footballer) James Michael "Jim" Smith is a retired English footballer and manager. As a player, he made 249 appearances in the Fourth Division of The Football League, representing Aldershot, Halifax Town, Lincoln City and Colchester United, and played for three-and-a-half years for Boston United of the... |
 Darryl PowellDarryl Powell Darryl Anthony Powell is an English-born former professional footballer who made more than 350 appearances in the Football League and Premier League and played international football for the Jamaican national team... |
Puma AG PUMA AG Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two... |
EDS Electronic Data Systems HP Enterprise Services is the global business and technology services division of Hewlett Packard's HP Enterprise Business strategic business unit. It was formed by the combination of HP's legacy services consulting and outsourcing business and the integration of acquired Electronic Data Systems,... |
| Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... |
Walter Smith Walter Smith Walter Smith, OBE is a Scottish football manager. His most recent job was at Scottish Premier League club Rangers.Smith had a relatively modest playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton.A pelvic injury meant he moved in to coaching at... |
Dave Watson Dave Watson David "Dave" Watson is an English former professional footballer who made 12 appearances for the English national team. He is now the youth team coach at Newcastle United.-Playing career:... |
Puma PUMA AG Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two... |
One2One |
| Ipswich Town Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02.... |
George Burley George Burley George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps... |
Matt Holland Matt Holland Matthew Rhys "Matt" Holland is a former English-born Irish footballer, who represented Republic of Ireland at international level... |
Punch | Greene King Greene King Brewery Greene King is a British brewery established in 1799 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. It has grown to become one of the largest British owned breweries in the UK through a series of takeovers which have been the subject of some criticism. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent... |
| Leeds United | David O'Leary David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai... |
 Lucas RadebeLucas Radebe Lucas Valeriu Radebe is a former Leeds United and South African football player. During his career, Radebe was renowned for being a world-class centre back and a great ambassador for the sport.... |
Nike Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area... |
Strongbow |
| Leicester City Leicester City F.C. Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester... |
Peter Taylor |
Matt Elliott |
Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif is a French company producing sports equipment such as shoes, shorts, and T-shirts. It was founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset, but the first clothing items branded with the rooster appeared in 1948... |
Walkers Crisps Walkers (snack foods) Walkers is a British snack food manufacturer operating mainly in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and to a lesser extent on the European continent. They are best known for manufacturing crisps. They hold 47 per cent of the British crisp market... |
| Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... |
Gérard Houllier Gérard Houllier Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season.... |
Jamie Redknapp Jamie Redknapp Jamie Frank Redknapp is a retired English footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is now a football pundit with Sky Sports, and an editorial columnist with the Daily Mail.... |
Reebok Reebok Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle... |
Carlsberg Group |
| Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894... |
Kevin Keegan Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United.... |
 Alf-Inge HaalandAlf-Inge Haaland Alf-Inge Rasdal "Alfie" Håland , anglicised to Haaland, is a retired Norwegian football defender. He grew up at Bryne and played his club football for Bryne FK, and later played for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City... |
Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif is a French company producing sports equipment such as shoes, shorts, and T-shirts. It was founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset, but the first clothing items branded with the rooster appeared in 1948... |
Eidos Eidos Interactive Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton.... |
| Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... |
Alex Ferguson Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986... |
Roy Keane Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland.... |
Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Vodafone Vodafone Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of... |
| Middlesbrough Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889... |
Steve McClaren Steve McClaren Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season... |
Paul Ince Paul Ince Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town... |
Errea Erreà Erreà is a sportswear trademark founded in 1988, in Torrile... |
BT Cellnet O2 (United Kingdom) Telefónica UK Limited is a telecommunications, internet and financial services provider in the United Kingdom owned by Telefónica, forming part of its Telefónica Europe division... |
| Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger... |
Bobby Robson Bobby Robson Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career.... |
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team... |
Adidas Adidas Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport... |
Newcastle Brown Ale Newcastle Brown Ale Newcastle Brown Ale is a beer produced by Heineken International. It was introduced in 1927 by Newcastle Breweries. In 2005, brewing was moved out of Newcastle upon Tyne for the first time, to Dunston on the other side of the River Tyne, and in 2010 moved entirely to Tadcaster, North Yorkshire... |
| Southampton Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club... |
Stuart Gray Stuart Gray (footballer born 1960) Stuart Gray is an English former footballer and manager, who is the former manager of Football League Two side Northampton Town. On 30th December 2010 he was appointed the caretaker manager of Burnley following the sacking of Brian Laws, reverting to his role as first team coach when Eddie Howe... |
Matt Le Tissier |
Saints | Friends Provident Friends Provident Friends Provident was an organisation offering life insurance based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as a mutual Friendly Society for Quakers, although it was demutualised in 2001 and became a publicly listed company, no longer linked with the Religious Society of Friends... |
| Sunderland | Peter Reid Peter Reid Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career... |
Michael Gray |
Nike Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area... |
Reg Vardy Reg Vardy Evans Halshaw is a chain of car dealerships with around 180 showrooms, predominantly in Northern England. It is a subsidiary of Pendragon PLC.-Pendragon PLC:... |
| Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... |
Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England.... |
Sol Campbell Sol Campbell Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's... |
Adidas Adidas Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport... |
Holsten |
| West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current... |
Glenn Roeder Glenn Roeder Glenn Victor Roeder is an English football manager and former player, most recently in charge at Norwich City. As a player, Roeder represented England B on 7 occasions... |
 Steve LomasSteve Lomas Stephen "Steve" Lomas is the football manager of St Johnstone and a former Northern Ireland international player. He played for Manchester City, West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers and Gillingham, finishing his playing career at United Counties Football League Premier Division club St Neots Town... |
Fila Fila Fila or FILA may refer to:*Fila , a South Korean sportswear manufacturer* Fila , an island of Vanuatu*Fila, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province... |
Dr. Martens Dr. Martens Dr. Martens is a traditional British footwear brand, which also makes a range of accessories – shoe care products, clothing, luggage, etc. In addition to Dr. Martens, they are known as Doctor Martens, Doc Martens, Docs or DMs... |
Final league table
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification/relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... (C) |
38 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 79 | 31 | 48 | 80 | UEFA Champions League 2001–02 1st group stage |
| 2 | Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups... |
38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 63 | 38 | 25 | 70 | UEFA Champions League 2001–02 1st group stage |
| 3 | Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... |
38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 71 | 39 | 32 | 69 | UEFA Champions League 2001–02 3rd qualifying round1 |
| 4 | Leeds United Leeds United A.F.C. Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system... |
38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 64 | 43 | 21 | 68 | UEFA Cup 2001–02 1st round |
| 5 | Ipswich Town Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02.... |
38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 57 | 42 | 15 | 66 | UEFA Cup 2001–02 1st round1 |
| 6 | Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 68 | 45 | 23 | 61 | UEFA Cup 2001–02 1st round1 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 46 | 41 | 5 | 57 | |
| 8 | Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder... |
38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 46 | 43 | 3 | 54 | 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup 3rd round |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,... |
38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 50 | 57 | −7 | 52 | |
| 10 | Southampton Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club... |
38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 52 | |
| 11 | Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger... |
38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 51 | 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup 3rd round |
| 12 | Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... |
38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 49 | |
| 13 | Leicester City Leicester City F.C. Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester... |
38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 48 | |
| 14 | Middlesbrough Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889... |
38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 42 | |
| 15 | West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current... |
38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 42 | |
| 16 | Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... |
38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 42 | |
| 17 | Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English... |
38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 59 | −22 | 42 | |
| 18 | Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894... (R) |
38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 41 | 65 | −24 | 34 | Relegation to Football League First Division 2001-02 |
| 19 | Coventry City Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry... (R) |
38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 34 | |
| 20 | Bradford City (R) | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 30 | 70 | −40 | 26 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
1Since Liverpool qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners went to Ipswich Town, and as Liverpool also won the League Cup that place went to Chelsea.
| Total goals: | 992 |
|---|---|
| Average goals per game: | 2.61 |
Results
Arsenal
ArsenalArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, for the third year running, came close to success in two major competitions but yet again finished the season without any silverware. By Christmas, most of the bookmakers had closed the books on them and anyone else catching Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
in the Premiership title race. When the Gunners were crushed 6-1 at Old Trafford in late February, just about all of the lingering doubts about the title's destination were crushed, and Arsenal's bid for the title was over by mid April.
But there was still some chance of success. They had just beaten local rivals Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi-final to book their place in the first final at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
while Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
is redeveloped.
Arsenal were also in a race with three or four other teams to secure second place, and in the end they won the race for runners-up spot to complete three successive seasons of finishing second to Manchester United in the league.
On 12 May, Arsenal took an early lead over Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final thanks to a Freddie Ljungberg goal, and with 5 minutes remaining the trophy was within touching distance. But two late goals from Liverpool's Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
condemned Highbury
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
to a third successive trophyless season.
Aston Villa
Another season of decent (but rarely exciting) form saw VillaAston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
secure another top-10 finish, though this time they dipped slightly into eighth place after occupying sixth place a year earlier
1999-2000 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United were crowned FA Premier League champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the European Cup and withdrawal from the FA Cup in order to compete in the FIFA Club World...
. Villa proved themselves as one of the hardest Premiership teams to beat, with only the top three sides suffering fewer defeats than Villa's 10. But a mere 13 wins and a staggering 15 draws ended any hopes of a title bid or even a top-six finish. The arrival of Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
striker Bosko Balaban
Boško Balaban
Boško Balaban is a Croatian footballer who currently plays for Panionios in the Super League Greece as a striker. He is a former member of the Croatia national team.-Early career:...
at the end of the season gave fans renewed hope that next season
2001-02 in English football
The 2001-02 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England.-Arsenal cruise to title glory:In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought Premiership title races for years, Arsenal won the championship by seven points. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the...
might deliver more success.
Bradford City
A terrible start to the season saw inexperienced young manager Chris HutchingsChris Hutchings
Christopher "Chris" Hutchings is an English former footballer and former manager of Walsall. He played for a number of clubs including Chelsea and played more than 100 games for Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town...
dismissed after 12 games at the helm. In came Scotsman
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Jim Jefferies
Jim Jefferies
James "Jim" Jefferies is a Scottish football former player and manager. Jefferies played for Heart of Midlothian for almost his whole playing career and enjoyed a successful first managerial spell with the club, winning the 1998 Scottish Cup...
as his successor, but Jefferies could do little to alter Bradford's dismal fortunes and they went down in bottom place with just five Premiership wins all season - equalling Swindon's
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
record low of Premiership wins which had been set seven years earlier
1993-94 in English football
The 1993-1994 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:From the start of this season, the FA Premier League would be sponsored by Carling Breweries - an association which would last for eight years...
.
Charlton Athletic
Alan CurbishleyAlan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....
and his Charlton side
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
won many admirers after their Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
title glory gained them promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking. This time he kept them there with an excellent ninth place finish and 52 points. They would have finished higher still - and possibly qualified for Europe - had their defence not been the leakiest of any in the top 15 and the sixth leakiest in the division. Still, it was a superb achievement for a side who had been among the favourites of many punters to suffer an immediate return to the Nationwide League. The arrival of striker Jason Euell
Jason Euell
Jason Joseph Euell is a Jamaican-English football player who plays for Charlton Athletic. He can play as either a forward or a midfielder...
from Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
in a club record deal gave fans hope of more success in 2001-02.
Chelsea
A slow start to the season cost manager Gianluca VialliGianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia....
his job, despite having won five trophies since his appointment in February 1998. The last of these trophies came at the start of the season, when they defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the Charity Shield
FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
to win the last-ever club game at the pre-redevelopment Wembley.
Vialli's successor was Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri
Claudio Ranieri, is an Italian football manager, currently in charge as head coach of Internazionale.He has also managed many other well-known clubs in Europe, including Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus and Roma.-Early life:Ranieri attended St...
, who guided the club to sixth place in the final table and attained automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
.
The biggest success of the season was the effectiveness of club record signing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jerrel Hasselbaink usually known as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a Dutch former football striker who played for various clubs in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, and Spain, as well as the Dutch national team. He scored more than 200 career goals...
, who found the net 23 times in 35 Premiership games in a partnership with Chelsea's now 34 year old Italian superstar, Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi...
who found the net on 9 occasions.
Coventry City
After 34 years and 10 close shaves with relegation, Coventry City'sCoventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
luck finally ran out and they were relegated from the top flight.
Derby County
Another season of struggle plagued Pride ParkPride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium located on the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. It is the current home of Football League Championship club Derby County, who moved to the stadium from the Baseball Ground upon its opening in 1997...
, but Jim Smith
Jim Smith (footballer)
James Michael "Jim" Smith is a retired English footballer and manager. As a player, he made 249 appearances in the Fourth Division of The Football League, representing Aldershot, Halifax Town, Lincoln City and Colchester United, and played for three-and-a-half years for Boston United of the...
's men were saved with one week of the season left after Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
lost their penultimate game of the season. The attention was then quickly focused on improving the squad for 2001-02 in a bid to prevent another relegation battle.
Everton
When Walter Smith was appointed as EvertonEverton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
manager three years ago, he was intent on reversing the decline which had turned Everton from title winners to relegation battlers in barely a decade. Three years on, they are still in the Premiership, but have played some of the most unremarkable football ever seen at this level and have frustrated fans who have spent the last five seasons living in fear of relegation. This season saw them finish 16th - their lowest finish under Smith's management. Even the arrival of Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...
made little difference to the side, with the iconic Geordie
Geordie
Geordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
performing like a thin shadow of his former self.
As the 2001-02 season approached, Smith was the favourite of many bookies to be the first managerial casualty of the new season.
Ipswich Town
Tipped by many to go straight back down to Division OneFootball League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
after winning promotion, Ipswich
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
surprised observers by consistently holding a place among the top six. For much of the season, it looked like they would finish in the top three and qualify for the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
for the first time in nearly 40 years. In the end, they finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
for the first time since 1982. Manager George Burley
George Burley
George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps...
was then voted "Manager of the Year" by his colleagues.
Leeds United
David O'LearyDavid O'Leary
David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai...
took Leeds
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
to their first European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
semi-final since 1975, where defeat at the hands of Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
ended their chances of a repeat of the ill-tempered 1975 European Cup clash with Bayern Munich who beat Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in the other semi-final.
The club's league form in the first half of the season had been dire, and they had been just one place outside the relegation zone at Christmas. However, after a dramatic improvement in form they finished fourth in the final table, which meant that their place in Europe for 2001-02 would be in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
rather than the European Cup.
Failure to qualify for the following season's Champions League was considered a disappointment rather than a disaster by fans of the club at the time, given the success in reaching the semi-final. However, the directors of the club had secured tens of millions of pounds of loans which depended on successful Champions League qualification; the failure to qualify was a calamity that would see the club suffer financial disaster and be relegated twice in the coming seasons.
Leicester City
A superb start to the season saw LeicesterLeicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
begin October on top of the league just four months after the appointment of Peter Taylor
Peter John Taylor
Peter John Taylor is an English football manager and former player and current head coach of the Bahrain national football team...
as Martin O'Neill's successor
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...
- they had not occupied top place since 1963. Two weeks later, they surrendered their lead to Manchester United but were still in the top four by Christmas.
A shock defeat at the hands of Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
underdogs Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
quarter-final midway through March had a negative effect on the Foxes, who endured 9 defeats and attained one win from their final 10 games. This slump dragged them down to 13th place - their lowest finish since winning promotion to the Premiership back in 1996. Several high profile end-of-season signings - including that of Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
legend Dennis Wise
Dennis Wise
Dennis Frank Wise is an English former football manager and player, and former Executive Director at Newcastle United....
- gave fans hope that Leicester could regain their form and rejoin the challenge for honours in 2001-02.
November saw the announcement of plans to relocate to a new 32,000-seat stadium
Walkers Stadium
The King Power Stadium is a football stadium which hosts home matches of English football club Leicester City. The all-seater stadium, inaugurated in July 2002, holds 32,500 and has the 19th largest stadium capacity in England. The stadium is named after King Power, a company owned by club owner...
at a site adjacent to Filbert Street
Filbert Street
Filbert Street, in Leicester, England, was a football stadium, and the home of Leicester City from 1891 to 2002. Although officially titled "The City Business Stadium" in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by its address, like many English football stadia.- Early years :The club,...
, with a targeted completion for the start of the 2003-04 season
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
. Later in the season, it was announced that Leicester wound only have to be spend one more season at their Filbert Street ground before they could move into their new home.
Liverpool
LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
enjoyed their best season for years when they completed a unique treble
The Treble
The term treble or Treble is used in association football to refer to a team winning three trophies in a single season. Honours usually considered to contribute to a treble are the top-tier domestic league competition, domestic cup competitions, and continental tournaments; although this depends to...
of cup competitions and ended Gerard Houllier
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
's three-year wait to bring silverware to Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
.
The first trophy was secured on 25 February when a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory followed a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
in the Worthington Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
final. The game was also the first club fixture to be played at Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
's Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
while Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
was being rebuilt. Part two of the treble was completed on 12 May when two late Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
goals overturned Arsenal's
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
lead in the FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final 2001
The 2001 FA Cup Final was a football match held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday, 12 May 2001 and was the first final to be played outside of England. The game had an attendance of 72,000. The final was contested between Arsenal and Liverpool, with Liverpool winning 2–1, after...
to give the Reds a 2-1 win. The final part of the treble was perhaps the most dramatic. The UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
final featured an amazing 9 goals as Alaves gave them a run for their money fighting back to equalize from 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3, before Liverpool finally ran out 5-4 winners
2001 UEFA Cup Final
The 2001 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Alavés of Spain on 16 May 2001 at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany. The showpiece event was the final match of the 2000–01 edition of Europe's secondary cup competition, the UEFA Cup. Liverpool were...
after extra-time.
Promising young midfielder Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
was voted PFA Young Player of the Year
PFA Young Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player aged 23 or under at the start of the season who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football...
for his key part in one of the most successful seasons in Liverpool's 109-year history, and contributions from British stars Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
, Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
, Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
, Danny Murphy, and new signings Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer.McAllister played primarily as a midfielder, in a successful career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell before moving south of the border to Leicester City at the age of 20...
and Emile Heskey
Emile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with hometown club Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first team debut in 1995...
were matched by an increasingly continental side consisting of new captain Sami Hyypia
Sami Hyypiä
Sami Tuomas Hyypiä is a retired European Cup winning Finnish footballer who played in the centre back position. He last played for German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and was the captain of the Finland national football team. He joined Leverkusen in summer 2009, ending a ten year spell at...
, Sander Westerveld
Sander Westerveld
Sander Westerveld is a Dutch professional football goalkeeper. He left Sparta Rotterdam at the end of the 2007–08 Eredivisie season to play for Monza, and is currently playing for South African Premier Soccer League club Ajax Cape Town....
, Jari Litmanen
Jari Litmanen
Jari Olavi Litmanen is a Finnish footballer, currently playing for HJK. He is the current vice-captain of Finland national football team, where he served as a first choice captain between 1996–2008...
and Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar Hamann
Dietmar "Didi" Hamann is a German footballer who was most recently manager at Stockport County. Throughout his career, he has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City primarily in a defensive midfield position. He also spent time at Milton Keynes Dons as a...
.
However, there was sad news just after the end of the season, when former manager Joe Fagan
Joe Fagan
Joe Fagan was an English football manager best known for being manager of Liverpool F.C. from 1983 to 1985.- Career:Joe Fagan's playing career was largely spent at Manchester City for whom he signed in 1938...
(manager of the 1984 side that also managed to win three trophies in a season) died at the age of 80 after a long illness.
Manchester City
Manchester City'sManchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
return to the Premiership after a four-year exile was the consequence of back-to-back promotions. But it became clear after just a few games that Joe Royle
Joe Royle
Joseph "Joe" Royle is an English football manager. In his club career, he played for Everton , Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the England national team...
's men would struggle to retain their top flight status.
Their relegation was confirmed by a defeat in the penultimate game of the season, and Royle was dismissed within days. Former England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
coach Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
was appointed on a three-year contract and fans were given renewed hope of an immediate return to the elite.
Manchester United
Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
made an outstanding start to the season and it was quickly clear that they were in pole position for a third successive Premiership title. By Christmas, most of the bookmakers had closed their books on anyone catching them, and most of those who believed otherwise were silenced on 25 February when they crushed their nearest rivals Arsenal 6-1 at Old Trafford. The title was confirmed six weeks later.
But there were downsides during the season. A shock 1-0 home defeat to West Ham
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
in the Fourth Round ended their FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
hopes, and their European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
challenge was ended in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich - their opponents from the victorious 1999 final.
After the end of the season, United broke their club record twice. The first signing was Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy, , is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF in Spain's La Liga. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...
, the second was Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron
Juan Sebastián Verón
Juan Sebastián Verón is an Argentinian professional football player who is the current captain and midfielder for Estudiantes de La Plata in the Argentine Primera División....
. Both of these players were rated as world-class, and gave United fans extra hope of more glory being achieved in what was thought to be Sir Alex Ferguson's
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
final season as United manager.
Middlesbrough
Some early season relegation worries saw MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
chairman Steve Gibson respond by installing former England boss Terry Venables
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
as joint manager alongside Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
in December. This experiment with joint management paid off as Middlesbrough finished 14th to avoid the drop by a comfortable margin.
Robson and Venables both departed after the season was over, and in came Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
assistant Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...
to succeed him.
Newcastle United
Bobby RobsonBobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
's first full season as Newcastle
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
manager saw them start well, the club in the top half throughout the first half of the season. However, after a 3-1 win at Leeds in January the club suffered a massive collapse in form, with no win until mid-April and only two further wins after that. The team was also hit by injury, with their £21 million strike-force of Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
and Carl Cort
Carl Cort
Carl Edward Richard Cort is an Guyanese-English footballer who plays as a forward. Most recently, he played for League One side Brentford until he was released in January 2011....
both missing large parts of the season.
In the end the team finished 11th once again - more than high enough to avoid relegation, but not high enough to get into Europe.
Southampton
SouthamptonSouthampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
enjoyed their best form in several years after it was announced that Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
was replacing Dave Jones as manager on a permanent basis.
But Hoddle caused outrage by walking out on the Saints in late March and taking the managerial vacancy at Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
the next day. Coach Stuart Gray
Stuart Gray
Stuart Allan Gray is an American/Panamanian former professional basketball player. At 7'0" tall, he played at the center position....
took over on a temporary basis, and with Southampton's good form continuing he was rewarded with the job on a permanent basis. Southampton's best moment was a 89th minute winner by Matthew Le Tissier to pull back from 2-0 down against runners-up Arsenal.
2000-01 was Southampton's final season at the Dell. After 103 years, they move on to the St Mary's Stadium
St Mary's Stadium
St Mary's Stadium is the home of Southampton F.C., in the city of Southampton. It is a UEFA 4-star rated stadium and with a capacity of 32,689 is the largest football stadium in the south of England, outside of London.-History:...
on Brittania Road, which with 32,000 seats is more than twice the size of their old ground and is seen by many as the way forward for a club.
Sunderland
SunderlandSunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
enjoyed another strong season, and briefly occupied second place in February. But Peter Reid
Peter Reid
Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career...
's men were unable to keep up their excellent form, and they had to settle for seventh place - just as they did last season, and not quite enough for UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
qualification.
Tottenham Hotspur
TottenhamTottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
were thrown into turmoil on 16 March when it was announced that manager George Graham
George Graham (footballer)
George Graham is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success at Arsenal, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager from 1986 until 1995.-Early life:...
had been sacked for breach of his contract. Countless names were linked with the vacancy, and a popular decision was made two weeks later when it was announced that former player Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
would be returning to the club as manager. A few weeks later, he re-signed Teddy Sheringham
Teddy Sheringham
Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...
from Manchester United as the first of many promised new signings in a new-look side which many fans feel will be just the right set of players to bring the glory days back to White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....
.
West Ham United
The sale of Rio FerdinandRio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
contributed towards a slight dip in West Ham's
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
Premiership form, and mystery surrounded the departure of manager Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
on 9 May after seven years as manager - was he resigned or was he sacked?
Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....
, Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...
and George Graham
George Graham (footballer)
George Graham is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success at Arsenal, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager from 1986 until 1995.-Early life:...
were just some of the many names linked with the vacancy before it was announced that caretaker manager and former youth coach Glenn Roeder
Glenn Roeder
Glenn Victor Roeder is an English football manager and former player, most recently in charge at Norwich City. As a player, Roeder represented England B on 7 occasions...
would be taking over on a permanent basis.
Roeder's appointment was met with endless disapproval by fans who felt that he wasn't experienced enough to take charge of a side which had spent the last three seasons in the frame for European football. Many outsiders shared their views, and for the first time in years the punters started to take bets on West Ham being relegated.
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Hasselbaink usually known as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a Dutch former football striker who played for various clubs in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, and Spain, as well as the Dutch national team. He scored more than 200 career goals... |
Chelsea | 23 |
| 2 | Marcus Stewart Marcus Stewart William Marcus Paul Tubb) known as Marcus Stewart is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward from 1991 until 2011... |
Ipswich Town | 19 |
| 3 | Thierry Henry Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and... |
Arsenal | 17 |
 Mark VidukaMark Viduka Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:... |
Leeds United | 17 | |
| 5 | Michael Owen Michael Owen Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997... |
Liverpool | 16 |
| 6 | Teddy Sheringham Teddy Sheringham Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester... |
Manchester United | 15 |
| 7 | Emile Heskey Emile Heskey Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with hometown club Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first team debut in 1995... |
Liverpool | 14 |
| Kevin Phillips Kevin Phillips (footballer) Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool.Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy... |
Sunderland | 14 | |
| 9 |  Alen BokšićAlen Bokšic Alen Bokšić is a former football attacker from Croatia. He was a renowned forward known for his technique.-Career:Bokšić was born in Makarska and started his career in the club Zmaj from Makarska. As a young player he moved to Hajduk Split and was introduced into the first team . With Hajduk, he... |
Middlesbrough | 12 |
| 10 | James Beattie James Beattie (footballer) James Scott Beattie is an English footballer who currently plays for Sheffield United as a striker.Born in Lancaster, Lancashire he came through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers eventually signing professionally for them in 1995... |
Southampton | 11 |
 Jonatan JohanssonJonatan Johansson (footballer) Jonatan Lillebror Johansson is a retired Finnish footballer. He last played for TPS in Finnish Veikkausliiga. His main position was a striker and he was a regular in the Finnish national team.- Early career :... |
Charlton Athletic | 11 | |
 Frédéric KanoutéFrédéric Kanouté Frédéric Oumar Kanouté is a French-born Malian footballer who currently plays for Sevilla FC in the Spanish La Liga. On 2 February 2008, Kanouté was named the 2007 African Footballer of the Year and is the first foreign-born player to win it.-Lyon:Born in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhône, Kanouté's... |
West Ham United | 11 | |
 Gustavo PoyetGustavo Poyet Gustavo Augusto Gus Poyet Domínguez is a former Uruguay international footballer and current manager of English side Brighton & Hove Albion.During his playing career, Poyet featured for teams including Real Zaragoza, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.... |
Chelsea | 11 | |
| Alan Smith |
Leeds United | 11 | |
Top assists
| Rank | Assistant | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thierry Henry Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and... |
Arsenal | 7 |
| 2 |  Nolberto SolanoNolberto Solano Nolberto Albino "Nobby" Solano Todco is a Peruvian footballer who plays for Hartlepool United. He has spent much of his career in the English Premier League and also played 95 times for Peru between 1994 and 2009... |
Newcastle United | 6 |
| 3 | Lee Bowyer Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship.... |
Leeds United | 5 |
| Ian Harte Ian Harte Ian Patrick Harte is an Irish international footballer who plays for Reading in the Football League Championship. Best known for his spell at Leeds United and also his ability to score goals from long range, including being a free kick specialist... |
Leeds United | 5 | |
| Harry Kewell Harry Kewell Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team... |
Leeds United | 5 | |
| Robert Pirès Robert Pirès Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04... |
Arsenal | 5 | |
| Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Claude Wiltord is a French footballer who currently plays for FC Nantes. With the French national team, Wiltord has won Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.... |
Arsenal | 5 | |
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month Premier League Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Premier League player each month of the season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, and announced alongside the Manager of the Month on the first or second Friday of the following month... |
|---|---|---|
| August | Bobby Robson Bobby Robson Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career.... (Newcastle United) |
Alan Smith (Leeds United) |
| September | Peter Taylor (Leicester City) |
Tim Flowers Tim Flowers Timothy David "Tim" Flowers is an English former football goalkeeper and the former manager of Conference North team Stafford Rangers.-Club career:... (Leicester City) |
| October | Arsène Wenger Arsène Wenger Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996... (Arsenal) |
Teddy Sheringham Teddy Sheringham Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester... (Manchester United) |
| November | George Burley George Burley George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps... (Ipswich Town) |
Paul Robinson Paul Robinson (goalkeeper) Paul William Robinson is an English footballer who plays for Blackburn Rovers as a goalkeeper in the Premier League. He had also been an England international and he earned 41 caps between 2003 and 2007 before his retirement from international football in August 2010.He joined Leeds United at 16... (Leeds United) |
| December | Peter Reid Peter Reid Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career... (Sunderland) |
James Beattie James Beattie (footballer) James Scott Beattie is an English footballer who currently plays for Sheffield United as a striker.Born in Lancaster, Lancashire he came through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers eventually signing professionally for them in 1995... (Southampton) |
| January | Terry Venables Terry Venables Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England... (Middlesbrough) |
Robbie Keane Robbie Keane Robert David "Robbie" Keane is an Irish association football player who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer and captains the Irish national football team.... (Leeds United) |
| February | Alex Ferguson Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986... (Manchester United) |
Stuart Pearce Stuart Pearce Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team... (West Ham United) |
| March | David O'Leary David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai... (Leeds United) |
Steven Gerrard Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger... (Liverpool) |
| April | David O'Leary David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai... (Leeds United) |
Gary McAllister Gary McAllister Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer.McAllister played primarily as a midfielder, in a successful career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell before moving south of the border to Leicester City at the age of 20... (Liverpool) |