1998–99 Football League

The 1998–99 Football League (known as the Nationwide Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 100th completed season of The Football League.

The Football League
Season1998–99
ChampionsSunderland
PromotedBradford City
Watford
RelegatedScarborough
New Club in LeagueHalifax Town

Sunderland were crowned First Division champions with 105 points, then a record, having lost just three games all season, to prove right the many pundits who tipped them for promotion. The two other promotion places were secured by two of the division's least fancied sides — runners-up Bradford City (back in the top division for the first time in 77 years) and playoff winners Watford (who had won their second successive promotion during Graham Taylor's second spell as manager).

Bury, Oxford United and Bristol City occupied the three relegation places in the First Division. Oxford's dismal season was mainly down to £10 million debts which were putting the club in real danger of closure, and had also resulted in the suspension of construction of their new stadium near the Blackbird Leys estate.

Kevin Keegan completed his spell as Fulham manager before taking the England job by guiding the Cottagers to the Second Division championship with a staggering 101 points. Following them up were runners-up Walsall and playoff winners Manchester City.

Going down were York City, Northampton Town, Lincoln City and Macclesfield Town. Narrowly avoiding the drop to the Third Division were Oldham Athletic, who just five years earlier had been a Premiership side who came within a whisker of reaching the FA Cup final.

Brentford, Cambridge United, Cardiff City and Scunthorpe United occupied the four promotion places in the Third Division.

Carlisle United kept their league status in remarkable fashion. They entered the final game of the season in bottom place, and with 90 minutes on the clock in their home game against Plymouth Argyle they were drawing 1–1 and needed a win to stay up. The referee then allowed 4 minutes of stoppage time and with just seconds to go, goalkeeper Jimmy Glass came upfield and scored from a rebounded corner to preserve his club's place in the league which had been held since 1928. Scarborough, who had only joined the league in 1987, were relegated instead. Glass, 25, had been signed on loan from Swindon Town after the transfer line because an injury crisis had left Carlisle without a goalkeeper for the final few games of the season.

First Division
First Division
Season1998–99
ChampionsSunderland
PromotedSunderland
Bradford City
Watford
RelegatedBury
Oxford United
Bristol City
Matches played552
Goals scored1,455 (2.64 per match)
Top goalscorerLee Hughes
(31 goals)[1]

One season after missing out on promotion in a dramatic playoff final defeat, Sunderland clinched a place in the Premier League after a brilliant season which saw them achieve an English league record of 105 points and clinch the Division One title for the second time in four seasons. Bradford City, in their first full season under the management of Paul Jewell, were the surprise package in Division One this season, finishing runners-up to reach the Premier League and return to the top flight of English football for the first time since 1922.

In the playoffs, Watford won at Wembley for the first time in their history, beating Bolton Wanderers 2-0 to secure a second successive promotion and end their 11-year absence from the top flight. Birmingham City and Ipswich Town were the beaten semi-finalists in the playoffs.

Wolves manager Mark McGhee was sacked in early November after a disappointing first three months of the season, with his assistant Colin Lee being appointed manager after a successful interim spell in charge, but Wolves were beaten to a playoff place on the last day of the season. Their local rivals West Bromwich Albion finished 12th but their striker Lee Hughes, in only his second season in league football, finished as the highest scorer in all four divisions with 31 Division One strikes.

New Crystal Palace owner Mark Goldberg's dream to turn the Selhurst Park club into a major force quickly turned into a nightmare as he found himself unable to prevent the club from being crippled by debt, and the team failed to deliver the goods on the pitch. Terry Venables stood down as manager in January, handing over the reins to director of football Steve Coppell, who took charge as manager for the fourth time in 15 years. Coppell guided the Eagles to a 14th place finish in the final table.

Bristol City's return to Division One ended in relegation after just one season as they finished bottom of the table, joined on the final day by Oxford United and Bury.

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

Play-offs
Main article: Football League Championship play-offs § 1999
Semifinals
1st leg – May 16th; 2nd leg – May 19th/20th, 1999 		Final at Wembley
May 31st, 1999
        
3rd Ipswich Town 0 4 4
6th Bolton Wanderers[notes 1] 1 3 4
5th Watford 2
6th Bolton Wanderers 0
4th Birmingham City 0 1 1 (6)
5th Watford (pen.) 1 0 1 (7)

[2]

  1. Bolton Wanderers the first round of the play-offs against Ipswich Town on away goals after extra time.

First Division results
Home \ Away BAR BIR BOL BRA BRI BRY CRE CRY GRI HUD IPS NWC OXF PTV POR QPR SHU STP SUN SWI TRA WAT WBA WOL
Barnsley 0–0 2–2 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–2 4–0 0–0 7–1 0–1 1–3 1–0 0–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–3 1–3 1–1 2–2 2–2 2–3
Birmingham City 0–0 0–0 2–1 4–2 1–0 3–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 4–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 2–2 1–2 4–0 0–1
Bolton Wanderers 3–3 3–1 0–0 1–0 4–0 1–3 3–0 2–0 3–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 3–1 3–1 2–1 2–2 1–2 0–3 2–1 2–2 1–2 2–1 1–1
Bradford City 2–1 2–1 2–2 5–0 3–0 4–1 2–1 3–0 2–3 0–0 4–1 0–0 4–0 2–1 0–3 2–2 1–2 0–1 3–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–1
Bristol City 1–1 1–2 2–1 2–3 1–1 5–2 1–1 4–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 2–2 2–0 2–2 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–4 1–3 1–6
Bury 0–0 2–4 2–1 0–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–3 0–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 3–3 1–1 2–5 3–0 0–0 1–3 2–0 0–0
Crewe Alexandra 3–1 0–0 4–4 2–1 1–0 3–1 0–1 0–0 1–2 0–3 3–2 3–1 0–0 3–1 0–2 1–2 0–2 1–4 0–2 1–4 0–1 1–1 0–0
Crystal Palace 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 4–2 1–1 3–1 2–2 3–2 5–1 2–0 0–1 4–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 3–2
Grimsby Town 1–2 0–3 0–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 5–1 0–0
Huddersfield Town 0–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 0–0 4–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–1 3–3 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 2–0 0–3 2–1
Ipswich Town 0–2 1–0 0–1 3–0 3–1 0–0 1–2 3–0 0–1 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 3–1 4–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 3–2 2–0 2–0
Norwich City 0–0 2–0 2–2 2–2 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 3–1 4–1 0–0 1–3 3–4 0–0 4–2 1–1 0–2 2–2 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–1 0–0
Oxford United 1–0 1–7 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–3 0–0 2–2 3–3 2–4 2–1 3–0 4–1 0–2 5–0 0–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 3–0 0–2
Port Vale 1–0 0–2 0–2 1–1 3–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 0–3 1–0 1–0 0–2 2–0 2–3 1–1 0–2 0–1 2–2 1–2 0–3 2–1
Portsmouth 1–3 0–1 0–2 2–4 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–2 2–2 4–0 3–0 1–0 3–1 1–1 5–2 1–1 1–2 2–1 1–0
Queens Park Rangers 2–1 0–1 2–0 1–3 1–1 0–0 0–1 6–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 3–2 1–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 4–0 0–0 1–2 2–1 0–1
Sheffield United 1–1 0–2 1–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 3–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 0–4 2–1 2–2 3–0 3–0 1–1
Stockport County 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 2–0 4–2 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 1–2
Sunderland 2–3 2–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 3–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 7–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 5–0 4–1 3–0 2–1
Swindon Town 1–3 0–1 3–3 1–4 3–2 1–1 1–2 2–0 2–0 3–0 0–6 1–1 4–1 1–1 3–3 3–1 2–2 2–3 1–1 2–3 1–4 2–2 1–0
Tranmere Rovers 3–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 4–0 3–0 3–1 1–2 2–3 0–2 1–3 2–2 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–3 1–1 1–0 0–0 3–2 3–1 1–2
Watford 0–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 4–2 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–1 4–2 2–1 0–1 2–1 0–2 0–2
West Bromwich Albion 2–0 1–3 2–3 0–2 2–2 1–0 1–5 3–2 1–1 3–1 0–1 2–0 2–0 3–2 2–2 2–0 4–1 3–1 2–3 1–1 0–2 4–1 2–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–3 3–0 1–0 3–0 0–0 2–0 2–2 1–0 2–2 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 2–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–1
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

First Division maps
Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1998–99
Locations of the Football League First Division 1998–1999 teams

Second Division
Second Division
Season1998–99
ChampionsFulham
PromotedFulham
Walsall
Manchester City
RelegatedYork City
Northampton Town
Lincoln City
Macclesfield Town
Matches played552
Goals scored1,358 (2.46 per match)
Top goalscorerJamie Cureton
(25 goals)[1]

One season after falling in the Division Two playoffs, Fulham established themselves as the pace-setters in the division this season and finished as runaway champions with 101 points. Manager Kevin Keegan accepted the FA's offer to take charge of the England team in February, but remained in charge at Craven Cottage until the end of the season before handing over the reins to Paul Bracewell, leaving Fulham with just one more promotion to win before achieving their goal of a place in the Premier League.

The final promotion place was secured by Manchester City, playing in the third tier for the first time in their history. A frustrating first few months of the season mounted the pressure on manager Joe Royle, but the Maine Road board kept faith in him and rewarded by an upturn in form which saw them finish third in the final table. After overcoming another Greater Manchester club, Wigan Athletic, in the playoff semi-finals, City took on Gillingham in the Wembley final but looked to have surrendered promotion to the Kent side who were still 2-0 up with 90 minutes on the clock. Then came two goals in added time which forced extra time, with City winning on penalties and sealing an instant return to Division One.

In their final season at Springfield Park, the one time home of the long-defunct Wigan Borough and their own home since formation in 1932, Wigan Athletic clinched the Football League Trophy, some compensation for their subsequent failure in the Division Two playoffs. The other losing semi-finalists in the playoffs were Preston North End, who managed to retain the services of their highly-rated new manager David Moyes despite interest from Manchester United, who were looking to appoint a new assistant manager halfway through the season.

Stoke City, who had frequently led Division Two in the first half of the season, looked all set to return to Division One at the first time of asking, before a slump in the second half of the season dragged them down to seventh in the final table - not even enough for a playoff place. Manager Brian Little left after just one season in charge and was succeeded by Gary Megson. There was similar disappointment for Reading, also newly relegated from Division One, who could only manage a 10th place finish in their first season at the new Madejski Stadium.

Newly promoted Macclesfield Town and Lincoln City went straight back down to Division Three, and were joined by Northampton Town (playoff finalists the previous season) and a York City side who had rarely been out of the relegation battle during the previous three seasons and finally ran out of luck following the sale of top scorer Richard Cresswell to Sheffield Wednesday in March. Relegation also brought about the end of Alan Little's reign at Bootham Crescent after more than six years at the helm. Oldham Athletic had a lucky escape from relegation in their first season under player-manager Andy Ritchie, with the man whose goals had helped them reach the top flight eight years earlier was faced with the challenge of keeping them out of the league's fourth tier.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Fulham (C, P) 46 31 8 7 79 32 +47 101 Promotion to the First Division
2 Walsall (P) 46 26 9 11 63 47 +16 87
3 Manchester City (O, P) 46 22 16 8 69 33 +36 82 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
4 Gillingham 46 22 14 10 75 44 +31 80
5 Preston North End 46 22 13 11 78 50 +28 79
6 Wigan Athletic 46 22 10 14 75 48 +27 76
7 Bournemouth 46 21 13 12 63 41 +22 76
8 Stoke City 46 21 6 19 59 63 −4 69
9 Chesterfield 46 17 13 16 46 44 +2 64
10 Millwall 46 17 11 18 52 59 −7 62
11 Reading 46 16 13 17 54 63 −9 61
12 Luton Town 46 16 10 20 51 60 −9 58
13 Bristol Rovers 46 13 17 16 65 56 +9 56
14 Blackpool 46 14 14 18 44 54 −10 56
15 Burnley 46 13 16 17 54 73 −19 55
16 Notts County 46 14 12 20 52 61 −9 54
17 Wrexham 46 13 14 19 43 62 −19 53
18 Colchester United 46 12 16 18 52 70 −18 52
19 Wycombe Wanderers 46 13 12 21 52 58 −6 51
20 Oldham Athletic 46 14 9 23 48 66 −18 51
21 York City (R) 46 13 11 22 56 80 −24 50 Relegation to the Third Division
22 Northampton Town (R) 46 10 18 18 43 57 −14 48
23 Lincoln City (R) 46 13 7 26 42 74 −32 46
24 Macclesfield Town (R) 46 11 10 25 43 63 −20 43
Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs
Main article: Football League One play-offs § 1999
Semifinals
1st leg – May 15th/16th; 2nd leg – May 19th, 1999 		Final at Wembley Stadium
May 30th, 1999
        
3rd Manchester City 1 1 2
6th Wigan Athletic 1 0 1
3rd Manchester City (pen.) 2 (3)
4th Gillingham 2 (1)
4th Gillingham 1 1 2
5th Preston North End 1 0 1

[2]

Second Division maps
Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1998–1999
Locations of the Football League Second Division 1998–1999 teams

Third Division

Brentford achieved an instant return to Division Two under new chairman-manager Ron Noades, who took them to the Division Three title with 85 points. Cambridge United finally won promotion from Division Three at the fourth time of asking, clinching promotion as runners-up after three successive mid table finishes. The final automatic promotion place was sealed by Cardiff City, who enjoyed a big improvement in form to finish third just 12 months after finishing 21st. Scunthorpe United triumphed over Leyton Orient 1-0 in the playoff final to clinch the fourth and final promotion place, and ending their lengthy spell in the league's fourth tier.

A dramatic final day brought one of the most memorable moments of the season in the battle to stay in the Football League. An injury crisis had forced Carlisle United to bring in Swindon Town goalkeeper Jimmy Glass on loan after the transfer deadline. They went into their final game of the season needing to beat Plymouth Argyle at Brunton Park to stay in the Football League, but the score was still 1-1 with 90 minutes showing on the clock. With only seconds of extra time remaining, Glass ran the full length of the pitch to fire in a late winner to keep Carlisle in the league and relegate Scarborough.

Football League, Third Division
Season1998–99
ChampionsBrentford (2nd fourth tier title)
Direct promotionBrentford,
Cambridge United,
Cardiff City
Promoted through play-offsScunthorpe United
Relegated to ConferenceScarborough
New club in the leagueNone
Matches played552
Goals scored1,395 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerMarco Gabbiadini (Darlington), 23 [1]

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GS Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Brentford 46 16 5 2 45 18 10 2 11 34 38 79 85 Division Champions, promoted
2 Cambridge United 46 13 6 4 41 21 10 6 7 37 27 78 81 Promoted
3 Cardiff City 46 13 7 3 35 17 9 7 7 25 22 60 80
4 Scunthorpe United 46 14 3 6 42 28 8 5 10 27 30 69 74 Promoted through play-offs
5 Rotherham United 46 11 8 4 41 26 9 5 9 38 35 79 73 Participated in play-offs
6 Leyton Orient 46 12 6 5 40 30 7 9 7 28 29 68 72
7 Swansea City 46 11 9 3 33 19 8 5 10 23 29 56 71
8 Mansfield Town 46 15 2 6 38 18 4 8 11 22 40 60 67
9 Peterborough United 46 11 4 8 41 29 7 8 8 31 27 72 66
10 Halifax Town[lower-alpha 1] 46 10 8 5 33 25 7 7 9 25 31 58 66
11 Darlington 46 10 6 7 41 24 8 5 10 28 34 69 65
12 Exeter City 46 13 5 5 32 18 4 7 12 15 32 47 63
13 Plymouth Argyle 46 11 6 6 32 19 6 4 13 26 35 58 61
14 Chester City 46 6 12 5 28 30 7 6 10 29 36 57 57
15 Shrewsbury Town 46 11 6 6 36 29 3 8 12 16 34 52 56
16 Barnet 46 10 5 8 30 31 4 8 11 24 40 54 55
17 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 8 3 12 25 35 8 4 11 24 31 49 55
18 Southend United 46 8 6 9 24 21 6 6 11 28 37 52 54
19 Rochdale 46 9 8 6 22 21 4 7 12 20 34 42 54
20 Torquay United 46 9 9 5 29 20 3 8 12 18 38 47 53
21 Hull City 46 8 5 10 25 28 6 6 11 19 34 44 53
22 Hartlepool United 46 8 7 8 33 27 5 5 13 19 38 52 51
23 Carlisle United 46 8 8 7 25 21 3 8 12 18 32 43 49
24 Scarborough 46 8 3 12 30 39 6 3 14 20 38 50 48 Relegated to Conference
Source:
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
Notes:
  1. New club in the league

Play-offs
Main article: Football League Two play-offs § 1999
Semifinals
1st leg – May 16th; 2nd leg – May 19th, 1999 		Final at Wembley Stadium
May 29th, 1999
        
4th Scunthorpe United 0 3 3
7th Swansea City 1 1 2
4th Scunthorpe United 1
6th Leyton Orient 0
5th Rotherham United 0 0 0 (2)
6th Leyton Orient (pen.) 0 0 0 (4)

[2]

Third Division maps
Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1998–1999
Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1998–1999

See also

References

The tables above are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website,[2] with home and away statistics separated. Play-off results are from the same website.

  1. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  2. "England 1998–99". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
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